Tobacco



. (No Model.)

R. J. GOM PTON"& J. T.- DRUMMOND.

METHOD OF MARKING PLUG TOBACCO.

Patented July l, 1882..

I .HQ

By W

N PETERS. Pholwljthogmplmr. Wailington. I) C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RICHARD J. COMPTON AND JAMES T. DEUMMOND, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

METHOD OF MARKING PLUG-TOBACCO.

srncrrrcnrrolv forming part of Letters Patent No, 260,456, dated. July-4, 1882,

Application filed December 24, 1881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, RICHARD J. COMPTON and JAMES T. DRUMMOND, residents of St. Louis, Missouri, have jointly made a new and useful Improvement in the Mode of Marking Tobacco, of which the following is a full, clear,

and exact description, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a vertical section, showing both followers withdrawn from the fixed upright or bed of the press and the frame used in holdin g the tobacco while being impressed dropped below or out of the way of the followers; Fig. 2, a similar section, but showing the forward follower moved forward toward the upright or bed and to bring the dies'into position to cut; Fig.3, a similar section, showing the followers withdrawn and the plug of tobacco and its inclosing frame about to be inserted in front of the followers; and Fig. 4, a similar section, showing the pluginserted and the followers moved forward so as to cause the label or tag to be impressed into the plug.

The same letters denote the same parts.

The present method consists in stamping or cutting out the labels or tags that are to be applied to the tobacco, retaining them within the stamping or cutting tool or tools until the tobacco is in front of the latter, and then ejecting the labels or tags from the tools and impressing them into the tobacco.

Referring to the drawings, A represents the bed plate or frame of a press. B represents a fixed part of the construction, corresponding to the bed of a press. It serves as a backing or support for the material from which. the labels or tags are made and while being cut into the desired shape by the dies. The ma terial in question-and which may betin, tinfoil, paper, or any substance suitable for being impressed, as a label, tag, or mark, into the tobacco-is shown at 0, Figs. 1, 2, 3, at.

D and E represent two followers having a reciprocating movement, as hereinafter described, toward and from the part B. The forward follower, D, is furnished with dies F for cutting or stamping out of the material C the labels, tags, or marks which are to be attached to the tobacco, the shape of the dies varying, of course, according to the shape of the label, tag, or mark.

Working through the dies are movable plungers G, the forward movement of the plungersthat is, toward the part Bbein g effected by causing the rear follower, E, to be closed against the rear ends, 9, of the plungers, as in Fig. 4, and the rearward movement of the plungers being caused by the forward ends encountering the material C, as in Fig. 2.

The operation of the device, as thus far described, is as follows: The material 0 is held against the part B, and the follower D is advanced from the position of Fig. 1 into the position of Fig. 2, and so as to cause the dies F to cut the material C, and thereby stamp out the label or tag H. The follower D is then withdrawn from the part B and material C, andsufficiently to admit between the dies and part B the plug of tobacco I, the position being indicated in Fig. 3. The plug being admitted as described, the two followers D and E are moved forward, bringing the points of the dies F'to or toward the plug I and closing the rear follower, E, against the plungers G. Then, by moving the rear follower farther forward, the plungers G act to eject the labels, (which, after being stamped from the material C, have been held within the dies F,) and to press them into the plug I, and with sufficient force to cause the labels to be secured to the plug by embedding them in the tobacco, so that the tobacco surrounding the edge of the mark, label, seal, or tag shall bind thereupon, the best result being obtained when the surrounding tobacco slightly overhangs the mark. This overhanging in practice is brought about through the resiliency of the tobacco, for after impressing the mark below the surrounding surface and withdrawing the impressing-tool the tobacco springs back slightly over the edge of the mark, but sufficiently to secure it in position. This last-named position of the mechanism is indicated in Fig. 4. The followers are then withdrawn, the marked or labeled plug I removed from in front of the followers,

material C, the followers D E, and the plugframes 1' is not shown, as it is not deemed essential for the present purpose, such mechanism, as well as what is here shown, it being our intention to have form the subject-matter of a subsequent application.

The part B may'have an elastic facing, b.

\Ve claim- The herein-described mode of labeling or tagging tobacco, which consists in stamping or cutting out the labels or tags, retaining the labels or tags within the stamping or cutting tool or tools until the tobacco being labeled or marked is in front of the latter, and then ejecting the labels or tags from the tool or tools and impressing them into the surface of the tobacco in the manner described, substantially as set forth.

RICH. J. COMPTON.. J. T. DRUMMOND.

Witnesses:

CHAS. D. MoonY, SAML. S. BOYD. 

